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Plant City wants to save historic school building

Facing significant repairs, the city put out a request for proposals for the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center.
 
The exterior of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center in Plant City.
The exterior of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center in Plant City. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
Published June 6, 2023|Updated June 6, 2023

PLANT CITY — Shelby Bender has history with the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center.

When the building was a school, Bender, her mother, her husband and her in-laws were students there. Her husband’s grandmother was a teacher.

Since 2003, Bender has been president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, which saved the building from demolition nearly 50 years ago and has since operated it as a city-owned community center and Plant City and Florida pioneer museum.

Now, Bender is worried that the society will be displaced from the building.

In April, citing an estimated $31 million in repairs needed for the three-story, 42,000-square-foot structure, Plant City’s commission issued a request for proposals for the rehabilitation and future use of the 109-year-old building. It is currently closed due to safety concerns.

Proposals, which could include a partnership with the city or purchase of the building, are due Thursday. Bender said the historical society will submit one.

The City Commission would then accept the proposal that they believe has the best plan to save and maintain the building, or reject them all and start over.

“What happens if we are not chosen?” Bender said. “Can you imagine this museum somewhere else, like a strip mall? It doesn’t belong somewhere like that.”

Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, gives a tour of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center in Plant City.
Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, gives a tour of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center in Plant City. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

The city’s call for proposals states that “focus on history, arts and culture are top priority” and “uses that allow for event space, rentals, and other group activities are highly desired.” But the former school could be used for other reasons.

“It could become apartments or condos,” Bender said. “It needs to remain a community center.”

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Built in 1914, the school operated as Plant City High School through 1955 and then became Tomlin Junior High School, which Bender attended from 1966-1968. The school closed in 1972 and there was talk of demolishing it.

Instead, in 1975 at the community’s request, ownership was transferred to the city to be operated and preserved by the East Hillsborough Historical Society, which was formed mostly for that purpose.

Today, the museum, which spans the building, includes rooms dedicated to farming, music, the Strawberry Festival and long-gone Plant City buildings.

It has hosted weddings, birthday parties, funerals, lectures and ghost tours, Bender said, and is film friendly. The movie “My Girl” shot scenes there, as did hard rock band Whitesnake for a music video.

The auditorium at the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center.
The auditorium at the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

To maintain the structure over the decades, Bender estimates the society has spent around $4 million.

Plant City has acquired around $800,000 in grants since 1983, according to city records that Bender provided to the Tampa Bay Times. Since 1986, the city has invested nearly $2 million into the community center.

Through Bender’s efforts, Hillsborough County recently agreed to allocate $1.5 million to the building for restoration. The county is working on an interlocal agreement with Plant City to transfer the funds.

Over the years, the roof was fixed, windows replaced and an elevator installed. But in late 2021, a city-funded structural assessment determined the building has mold, decaying wood rafters, termite damage and missing mortar in bricks. It needs electrical, mechanical and plumbing upgrades.

The city closed the building to the public but has allowed the society to maintain an office there.

“The time has come for significant action,” City Manager Bill McDaniel wrote to Bender about the decision in an email shared with the Tampa Bay Times. “Absent such action, the building will only continue to deteriorate.

Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, gives a tour of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center.
Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, gives a tour of the 1914 Plant City High School Community Center. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

The society requested that ownership be transferred to them.

“I don’t believe the final price tag for the needed work would be 31 million dollars,” Bender said. “I am confident the number would be much less.”

But the City Commission preferred to seek proposals from others, too.

Robert Rosenstein, Plant City’s director of procurement, expects only three or four to be submitted. He estimated the city commission could choose a winner within a month.

“It’s very niche,” he said. “Not only does someone need to take over operations, they need to restore it and then there is the ongoing maintenance. This is not for someone to flip.”

Bender remains optimistic that the society will be chosen, but is also considering what the future holds if they lose it.

“The big question is what to do and how to dispose of the collections,” she said. “For now, I am trying to keep focused on a positive outcome and, if not, then we will devise a plan.”